Welcome To My AS Media Blog! This is the blog tracking my film opening production for AS Media Coursework. This is a re-submission of work started in September 2016. I have kept many of the original dates, but substantially revised posts, especially adding material on audience, genre and within the evaluation questions.
The opening shot of this film opening is a medium long shot of the main protagonist (it is clear that she is the main protagonist since she is the first character shown). You can denote that it is snowing and the protagonist is holding a piece of luggage to connote that she is going somewhere for Christmas or New Year's Eve/Day (settingdenoted from the snow - winter time - christmas time). The lighting is bleak to connote Bridget's life and how she feels when she goes to see her mother. You can also denote that there is a black taxi in the background which further denotes the setting (London) to the audience. A female diegetic voiceover appears in this shot, establishing the first person narrative; this voiceover provides anchorage of who this character in the shot is. She is saying:
"It all began on New Years day... on my 32nd year of being single. Once again, I found myself on my own and going to my mother's annual turkey curry buffet. Every year, she tries to fix me up with some busy-haired, middle-aged bore and I feared this year would be no exception."
This voiceover doesn't provide any narrative enigma (Roland Barthes) in the film opening at all but instead provides the audience with exposition (her age, where she is from - her accent tells us that, that she is single and where she is going) immediately into the film. This character is heading to her mother's annual turkey curry buffet on New Years Day. The fact that the bags she is carrying are not feminine and that she is carrying all her luggage provides binary opposition (Levi-Strauss) to the stereotypical girl. ... SHOT 2
The next shot is an extreme long shot of the village where Bridget Jones has just arrived at to go to her mother's house. There are multiple signifiers here which connote that the village is stereotypically British white middle class in the A-C1 class range, such as the religious cross, the church, the red telephone box, the red poppies on the cross etc. These signifiers are used to attract an international audience because they are very familiar and stereotypically British. The signifiers like the church in the background and the cross signify that the village is also quite religious. ... SHOT 3
This shot is a crane shot, following where the character is going. This connotes that the film is not a low budget film but instead, a high budget film (A Working Title film). You can denote that the house in this shot is very big and the garden is very decorated which connotes that the people who own this house (Bridget's parents) are very wealthy. You can denote that in the garden, there are two bushes which are decorated as two swans touching nose to nose (two swans together connote love), this connotes that the family (most presumably the mother) is obsessed with love. As you hear from what the main protagonist says in her voiceover at the start of the film opening, you know that her mother always goes on at her about finding a man. ... SHOT 4
This shot immediately tells the audience that there is a completely different atmosphere in the mother's house to how Bridget is in her own life, from the drastic, immediate change in non-diegetic sound to what can be denoted as an upbeat song. This non-diegetic music also reveals to the audience that this is not just a film in the romance genre but also in the comedy genre - therefore rom-com). This shot says to the audience that whenever the main protagonist sees her mother, it is always a fake kind of happy and an act. She hates how her mother sets her up all the time for a date.
SHOT 5
There is a sort of dutch angle here which connotes that this house is an uncomfortable, uneasy place for the main protagonist. Also, this dutch angle connotes that she found the hug and kiss from her mother uncomfortable. The furniture and objects in this shot are old fashioned and very ordered to connote that this house is dominated by the mother; this tells the audience immediately what the mother's personality is like. Also, the inside of the house connotes wealth. The father living there may have had no say in any of the design or furniture of this house. The mother's clothing is stereotypical of an old, traditional person.
SHOT 1 Immediately when the film idents finish, non diegetic music/sound starts playing which is peaceful, romantic and tranquil to connote the vibe of the early morning rising as the main protagonist wakes up calmly. The opening shot is an extreme long shot of the sea, there is high key lighting to connote that the film is upbeat, happy and perhaps comedic; also it connotes that it is the dawn of a new day, creating a beautiful, light atmosphere. The first title is shown in white, sans serif font to connote the contemporary, modern, girly, upbeat, comedic feel/genre of the film. ... SHOT 2 The calm, peaceful, tranquil non diegetic music changes when we are fully zoomed in on the main protagonist in a close up shot, when a realisation hits her and she says "shit", then bratty, girly, rocky non diegetic music starts playing. ... SHOT 3 This medium shot shows the actions/movements of the main protagonist rushing out of bed. Also, we can see some signifiers in this shot that connote the film is about a very stereotypical modern day girly girl: the pink pillow, pink top, the blonde long hair, the bed colour and the lamp. The long blonde hair and clothes connote that this character may somewhat be the 'dumb blonde girly girl' who is bitchy and mean.
... SHOT 4
This is a long shot of the main protagonist's bedroom with lots of signifiers in the room that connote a stereotypical teenage girly girl. The title font for the film is in sans serif font. The font attracts the target audience of females who like glamour (the silver gems on the word 'wild' connotes this) and the prominent background colour of gold connotes the rich, posh, glamorous side of the film/main female protagonist. The film title font perfectly connotes what the main protagonist's personality and life is like.
... SHOT 5 This is an 'dirty' over the shoulder shot which shows what the character is looking at. It is a calendar full of events. The main event there is portrayed through an explosion drawing and lots of arrows pointing towards this explosion to connote that this event is completely horrific and the equivalent of an explosion/torpedo to the main protagonist. Her reaction from looking at this connotes that it is that day with the explosion drawing on. Also, the colours (lilacs, purples, pinks, light blues) and fonts of all these decorations reinforce and further connote that this main protagonist is very stereotypically girly. ... Order of Titles 1. Universal Pictures Presents 2. In Association With Studiocanal 3. A Working Title Production 4. Director's name then film ... Immediately when the film idents finish, non diegetic music/sound starts playing which is peaceful, romantic and tranquil to connote the vibe of the early morning rising as the main protagonist wakes up calmly. This non diegetic sound changes when we are fully zoomed in on the main protagonist in a close up shot, when a realisation hits her and she says "shit", then bratty, girly, rocky non diegetic music starts playing.
Bridget Jones's Diary
The next shot is an extreme long shot of the village where Bridget Jones has just arrived at to go to her mother's house. There are multiple signifiers here which connote that the village is stereotypically British white middle class in the A-C1 class range, such as the religious cross, the church, the red telephone box, the red poppies on the cross etc. These signifiers are used to attract an international audience because they are very familiar and stereotypically British. The signifiers like the church in the background and the cross signify that the village is also quite religious.
This shot immediately tells the audience that there is a completely different atmosphere in the mother's house to how Bridget is in her own life, from the drastic, immediate change in non-diegetic sound to what can be denoted as an upbeat song. This non-diegetic music also reveals to the audience that this is not just a film in the romance genre but also in the comedy genre - therefore rom-com). This shot says to the audience that whenever the main protagonist sees her mother, it is always a fake kind of happy and an act. She hates how her mother sets her up all the time for a date. 
